Locker units

ABSTRACT

A locker unit of predetermined height and including upright, horizontally spaced side members, a relatively narrow lower cross member, and a wider upper panel which together define a door opening. The locker unit height is comparable to that of conventional locker units, but the extra width of the upper panel compared to the width of a conventional cross member defines a small door opening. The smaller door is more resistent to bending, and the increased height of the upper panel accommodates ventilating openings and the usual locker identification plate. The locker unit includes an insert member mountint the lock in recessed relation. The insert member includes a sloped upper wall to facilitate viewing of the recessed lock from above. The locking bolt of the lock directly operates the door latching mechanism and the lock may be used as a handle to open the door. In one form of the locker unit a pull cable can be used to operate the door latching mechanism once the lock is unlocked. In another form of the locker unit the latching mechanism is operative through a cable system, operated by the lock.

United States Patent Brandes LOCKER UNITS [75] Inventor: Arthur H.Brandes, Seal Beach,

Calif.

[73] Assignee: Brandes Enterprises, Inc.,

Monrovia, Calif.

22 Filed: Oct. 11, 1974 [21] Appl. No.: 514,266

[52] US. Cl. 312/217; 70/78; 312/320 [51] Int. Cl. E05B 65/46 [58] Fieldof Search 312/213, 216, 217, 257, 312/320, 329; 70/78, 79, 81; 292/87,145, 336.3; 52/1 [561 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,750,2466/1956 Fuerst 312/213 2,946,640 7/1960 Sitler 312/320 3,133,772 5/1964Brandes 312/213 3,742,742 7/1973 Foote 70/78 Primary Examiner-Casmir A.Numberg Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Fulwider, Patton, Rieber, Lee & Utecht[57] ABSTRACT A locker unit of predetermined height and includingupright, horizontally spaced side members, a relatively narrow lowercross member, and a wider upper panel which together define a dooropening. The locker unit height is comparable to that of conventionallocker units, but the extra width of the upper panel compared to thewidth of a conventional cross member defines a small door opening. Thesmaller door is more resistent to bending, and the increased height ofthe upper panel accommodates ventilating openings and the usual lockeridentification plate. The locker unit includes an insert member mountingthe lock in recessed relation. The insert member includes a sloped upperwall to facilitate viewing of the recessed lock from above. The lockingbolt of the lock directly operates the door latching mechanism and thelock may be used as a handle to open the door. In one form of the lockerunit a pull cable can be used to operate the door latching mechanismonce the lock is unlocked. In another form of the locker unit thelatching mechanism is operative through a cable system, operated by thelock.

10 Claims, 13 Drawing Figures US. Patent Nov. 18, 1975 Sheetlof33,920,297

US. Patent Nov. 18, 1975 Sheet30f3 3,920,297

FIGJO LOCKER UNITS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the InventionThe present invention relates to locker units, and more particularly tolocker units having cross braces of unequal height to provide a smallerdoor without reducing the height of the locker enclosure.

2. Description of the Prior Art Heretofore, locker units of the priorart were characterized by spaced apart upright side members con nectedtogether by relatively narrow, vertically spaced apart cross bracesdefining the door opening. Ventilating openings such as louvers werelocated in the door, and the usual locker identification plate was alsoapplied to the door.

Locker units are subject to vandalism, particularly in schoolinstallations, and the doors are frequently kicked in and have to bereplaced. This is expensive and burdensome and many prior art effortshave been made to eliminate this problem. The door locks are also theobject of abuse and various attempts have been made to so locate andconstruct the locks that they are less susceptible to damage throughkicking and the like.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, a lockerunit is provided which is characterized by side members, a relativelynarrow lower cross brace, and a relatively wide upper cross brace orpanel. The locker identification plate and the louvers or ventilatingopenings can be provided in the upper panel, if desired. The use of adeeper upper panel does not diminish the size of the locker enclosureand has the unexpected advantage of providing a significantly smallerdoor much less susceptible to bending deformation. Even if damaged, thesmaller door is less expensive to replace because the louvers andidentification plate do not have to be replaced.

The present invention includes a universally mountable insert memberadapted to locate the lock in recessed relation so that the lock isprotected from kicking or the like. The insert member includes a slopingupper wall to facilitate viewing of the lock from above, with the upperwall characterized by surface reflectivity sufficient to concentrate theavailable light on the lock. The insert member also locates the rearwardportion of the lock such that the locking bolt is adapted to directlyengage the door latching mechanism whereby the lock knob may be used notonly to operate the latching mechanism, but also as a handle for openingthe door.

In another embodiment the lock is of that type which when unlockedsimply releases the latching mechanism for movement. A separate pullcable is then operable to pull upon and move the latching mechanism.

Still another embodiment of the present locker unit includes a latchingmechanism having a system of cables operative to unlatch the door, andthereby eliminating the conventional slidable latch bar. The use of sucha cable system eliminates the noise caused by operation of a slidablelatch bar. This is particularly significant in a school installationwhere noise is a problem at class change time.

Other objects and features of the invention will become apparent fromconsideration of the following description taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE. DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a front elevational view ofa plurality of assembled locker units, according to the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view taken along the line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view taken along the line 33 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the' rear of the door frame of the upperone of the locker units of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged front elevational view of the lock assembly;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged front elevational view of the formed insert memberforming a part of the lock assembly of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a side elevational view of the insert member 0 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a view taken along the line 8-8 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 9 is a partial perspective view of the rear of a locker door andframe, illustrating a different form of door unlocking mechanismoperated by the lock;

FIG. 10 is an enlarged rear elevational view of the structure of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a view taken along the line 1l--ll of FIG.

FIG. 12 is a partial perspective view of the rear of a locker door andframe, illustrating another form of door unlocking mechanism operated bya pull cable once the lock is unlocked; and

FIG. 13 is a view taken along line 13-13 of FIG. 12.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to FIGS. 1through 4, there is illustrated a three tier high assembly of lockerunits 10. The locker units 10 illustrated are sometimes known as booklockers, measuring less than full size lockers. However, the presentinvention is equally applicable to full size lockers and the presentshowing of a three tier high assembly of book lockers is merelyexemplary.

As previously indicated, an important object of the present invention isto provide locker units 10 which are resistant to damage by vandalskicking or otherwise forcibly striking the locker unit. Such destructiveattacks on lockers have caused school districts, for example, to spendsignificant time and money in repair and maintenance of damaged lockers.As will be seen, the construction and arrangement of the locker and itscomponents, according to the present invention, reduces the expense ofmaintenance, renders the locker more resistant to damage, andfacilitates use of the locker.

The three locker units 10 are arranged on top of one another in verticalalignment and include a pair .of spaced upright or vertical side members12, each preferably formed as an angle iron. The forward or front flangeor leg 13 of the side member 12 forms a part of the front face of thelocker frame, while the other leg 15 extends rearwardly and forms anattachment area for a pair of locker side panels 14.

Each locker unit 10 includes an upper cross member or louver panel 16which extends between the upright side members 12, a locker door 18which is located below the louver panel 16, and a horizontally orientedlower cross member 20 which extends between the side 3 members 12 belowthe door 18. Thus, the three tiered construction illustrated in FIG. 1comprises three sets, each comprising a louver panel 16, a door 18 belowthe panel 16, and a cross member 20 located below the doors 18, with allthree sets having the common side members 12.

The side margins of the louver panels 16 and the cross members 20 aresecured in any suitable manner, such as by spot welding, to the sidemembers 12 to define the rectangular openings within which the doors 18are disposed.

For optimum strength, each louvered panel 16 is of channel shape,including upper and lower, rearwardly extending flanges 22 and 24,respectively, as best seen in FIG. 2. Each flange 22 is bolted to ahorizontal panel 26.

The cross members 20 are also preferably made of channel shape, with thelower flange or leg of the channel of the lowermost cross member 20 (notshown) being welded or otherwise attached to a panel (not shown) to formthe bottom of the assembled locker units 10. The lower legs 27 of theupper two cross members 20 are riveted, spot welded, or otherwiseattached to the adjacent upper flanges 22 of the louver panels 16.

The plurality of panels 26 form the top and bottom walls of theenclosures defined by the locker units 10. The side panels 14 form thesides of such enclosures and are bolted or riveted to the side flangesof the upright side members 12. The panels 14 and 16 include appropriateflanges (not shown) at their rear margins for attachment to a rear panel(not shown), which forms the back wall to complete the locker enclosure.Thus, a generally rectangular frame is provided which is self-bracingand of rigid construction.

The particular configuration of the side members 12, louver panels 16,and cross members 20, and their manner of attachment to the panels 14and 26, are not critical to the present invention. Thus, the manner ofattachment can be by riveting, welding, or by any other means suitableto provide structural integrity, and the configuration of the lockerunit elements can be an angle, a channel, a modified channel, or a boxsection or the like, the described structural configuration merely beinga preferred form for strength and ease of fabrication.

Preferably a plurality of vertically spaced louvers 28 are provided ineach louver panel l6. The number and location of the louvers is notcritical. The louvers are preferably located in the upper portion ofeach louver panel 16 to leave space for attachment of alockeridentification plate 29.

By way of background, the conventional locker unit of the prior artusually includes a pair of cross members of approximately the same sizelocated above and below the locker door, with louvers located in thedoor. The door is made sufficiently high to accommodate such louvers,and the usual identification plate is attached to the door as well.Consequently, if the locker door is damaged by vandals, replacement ofthe door also requires replacement of the identification plate and thelouver section.

In contrast, the locker units 10 of the present invention are differentin that the locker doors 18 are made shorter and the upper cross braceor panel 16 is made much wider or higher than the lower cross brace ormember 20, approximately four to five times higher. Consequently, if adoor 18 is damaged it can be replaced at much less expense than theprior art door because the identification plate and louvers are locatedin t the louver panel 16. Even more important, the relatively shorterlocker door is structurally more resistant to deformation by personsattempting to kick it in.

However, despite the fact that the height of the door 18 is less thanthat of a prior art locker, the vertical height of the interior of thelocker unit 10 is the same. By simply increasing the depth of the uppercross member, in the form of the panel 16, the door 18 is thus not onlymade structurally stronger, but also the panel provides room for louversand an identification plate so that 1 these extra items of expense neednot be replaced with each damaged door.

Each door 18 includes a flat planar wall 30 generally Each door ispivotally supported by a pair of hinges I 40. Each hinge 40 includescooperating leaves pivotally connected by a hinge pin in the usualmanner, one leaf being secured to the front leg 13 of the adjacentupright side member 12, as by rivets 46, with the other leaf 42 beingsecured to the door 18 by nut and bolt assemblies 48.

Each door 18 is provided with a lock 52 of any suitable construction.The particular construction of the lock is not a part of the presentinvention except to the extent that the lock 52 includes a handle orknob 54 rotatable to raise a laterally extending lock bolt 56 to unlockthe latching mechanism 38.

As best seen in FIG. 4, the lock bolt 56 projects from the lock 52 intoan opening or slot provided in an offset bracket 58 attached to avertically elongated latch bar I 60. The bar 60 is mounted for verticalmovement on the inner face of the door wall 30 along its swinging Vedge. The particular construction of the latch bar 60 does notform apart of the present invention, being well known in the prior art andshown, for example, in 4 US. Pat. No. 3,074,750 issued Jan. 22, 1963. Asmore particularly set forth in that Patent, a typical latch bar isconstrained to move in a fixed vertical path by engagement between slotsin the guide bar and guide pins fixed to the adjacent side flange 34 ofthe door 18 and extending throughthe slots.

The latch bar 60 is illustrated, as best seen in FIG. 4, includes a pairof vertically spaced apart slots 62 into which extend lugs 64 which formpart of a pair of U- shaped brackets 66. The brackets. 66 are riveted orotherwise securely attached to the front flange 13 of the adjacent sidemember 12. The weight of the latch bar 60 normally causes the bar 60 todrop to a point where Y 4 the lugs 64 are located within the upperterminus of the associated slot 62 to constrain the door 18 fromopening. However, when the lock bolt 56 is moved upwardly, thecorresponding upward sliding movement of the latch bar 60 aligns theslots 62 with the lugs 64, al-

lowing the latch bar 60 and door 18 to be swung away.

from the lugs 64.

Referring now to FIGS. 5 through 8, there is illustrated a preferredconfigurationand location of the lock 52 to reduce susceptibility of thelock to damage by vandals.

By way of background all of the known locker doors provided for schoolsand similar installations include a central hole and adjacent upper andlower holes. These three holes are standard in size and in locationrelative to one another, although the three hole combination is oftenlocated in different areas of the door, sometimes higher or lower, orcloser to or farther from the free edge of the door, depending upon thelock and latch bar mechanism employed. In any event, the three holearrangement is standard so as to accept the mounting studs, bolts or thelike of any locker lock. Of course, the various lock manufacturers alsoutilize this same standard arrangement so that their locks will fit anylocker manufacturers door.

According to the present invention the same standard three-holearrangement, as will be seen, is provided in an insert member 70 stampedout of sheet metal or the like. The member 70, in turn is fitted withina vertically elongated, rectangular cut-out or opening 68 provided inthe locker door, as seen in FIG. 4. The opening 68 is provided in thesame location as the prior art three-hole arrangement would have beenlocated, so that when the insert member 70 is fitted within the opening68, the holes in the member 70 serve the same function as the prior artthree-hole arrangement served.

The insert member 70 is secured in position by four nut and boltassemblies 72 which secure a peripheral attachment flange 74 of themember 70 to the margins defining the opening 68.

As best seen in FIGS. 7 and 8, each insert member 70 includes a centraldished or recessed portion defined by a generally flat, verticallyoriented rear wall 76, a pair of sides 78 disposed at approximatelyright angles to the wall 76, a bottom side 80 also at approximatelyright angles to the rear wall 76, and a top portion or wall 82 which isinwardly and downwardly inclined or sloped at an angle of not less than45 with respect to the adjacent attachment flange 74.

In the particular embodiment illustrated, the lock 52 is a permutationor combination type of lock and includes a dial portion 84 integral withthe knot 54. Rotation of the knob 54 enables selective alignment of thegraduations on the dial portion 84 with a suitable reference mark, allas is well known in the lock art. The knob 54 and dial portion 84 aremounted to an escutcheon plate 86, which is secured to the rear wall 76of the insert member 70 by a pair of nut and bolt assemblies 88, as bestviewed in FIGS. 3 and 5.

The operative shaft (not shown) associated with the knob 54 extendsthrough a central opening 90 provided in the insert member rear wall 76,as seen in FIG. 6, for cooperation with the usual internal mechanismhoused in a lock casing 92 which is located behind the rear wall 76 andsecured thereto by the nut and bolt assemblies 88.

The location and size of the opening 90 and the openings 93 provided inthe insert member 70 to receive the nut and bolt assemblies 88 are madeto conform to the three-hole standard discussed previously.Consequently, the insert member 70 is adapted to mount all of the locksutilizing this threehole standard, including a great number ofcombination or permutation locks.

The depth of the dish portion of each insert member 70, that is, thedistance between the rear wall 76 and the mounting flange 74, is greatenough to house the lock 52 so that the knob 54 thereof is completelyre- 6 cessed behind the flange 74. Consequently, the knob 54 isprotected from abuse, such as kicking by vandals.

The approximate 45 slope of the top portion 82 of each insert membersatisfies an important purpose in that it enables a user to easily viewthe lock dial portion 84 from above. This is particularly important intrying to dial the combination of the lock 52 of the lowermost lockerunit 10 without having to stoop or kneel.

The material of the insert member 70 can be made of any material,although sheet metal is preferred because it is easily polished. Thepolished surface then concentrates the available light on the dialportion 84, which makes reading of the dial graduations easier.

The insert member 70 thus simultaneously provides a number of importantfunctions. It is adapted to accept all known, currently used schoollocker locks, in recessed protected relation, and in a manner affordingeasy viewing of the recessed dial portions thereof. Moreover, the member70 orients the lock casing of the recessed lock sufficiently rearwardlythat the lock bolt thereof is located immediately adjacent the usuallatch bar or equivalent latch mechanism for convenient latching andunlatching of the door.

Use of a permutation or combination type of lock 52 having a lock bolt56 is preferred for actuation of the latch bar. This is because the lockbolt 56 is directly engaged upon the latch bar 60, and there istherefore no necessity for aseparate handle. Not only is this a lessexpensive construction, but it also eliminates a common targetforvandals.

The diameter of the knob 54 inwardly of the usual knurled outer portionis preferably reduced or made smaller to enable the knob 54 to begrasped and used as a handle to pull the door 18 outwardly upon itsrelease by the latching mechanism 38.

In addition to the features thus far described, including the shorteneddoor 18 and deeper panel 16, the recessed mounting provided by theinsert member70 for the lock 52, and the elimination of a door handle,it is preferred also to eliminate the rigid latch bar 60 and provides alighter, relatively noise-free construction for the latching mechanism.The usual latch bar 60 is characterized by noisy operation, and this isparticularly distracting in a school during class changes.

A preferred latching construction is illustrated in FIGS. 9 through 11wherein sections of steel cables are illustrated in substitution for thelatch bar 60 of the previously described first embodiment.

More particularly, a modified form of latch housing 96 is provided whichis generally similar in configuration and channel cross section to theelongated latch bar 60. However, the housing 96 is non-slidable. Itincludes three-slots 98 in its rear face, the upper and lower ones ofthe slots 98 housing a pair of pivot shafts 100 which each pivotallysupport a catch or dog 102.

The dogs 102 project rearwardly out of the slots 98, as best illustratedin FIG. 11, andnormally engage a pair of brackets 104 similar to thebrackets 66 of the previous embodiments. The brackets 104 are fixed tothe locker frame, being secured by nut and bolt assemblies 106 or byspot welding to the front flange or leg 13 of the adjacent side member12. The dogs 102 are normally biased into a locked or engaged positionwith the brackets 104, as illustrated, by a pair of tension springs 108secured between the respective dogs 102 and a pair of pins 110 which areanchored to a side wall of the latch housing 96.

7 The latch housing 96 is rigidly secured to the door 18 adjacent thefree edge thereof by a pair of rivet assemblies 114 extending into thedoor side flange 34.

Since the latch housing 96 is fixed to the door 18, and

the brackets 104 are fixed to the locker frame, selective engagement anddisengagement is effective to lock and unlock the door 18. Moreparticularly, a U-shaped actuator 116 is rotatably mounted by a rivetand shaft assembly 118 which is attached to the adjacent side wall ofthe latch housing 96. The spaced legs of the U-shape actuator 116project laterally out of the central slot 98 of the latch housing 96 andstraddle the upper and lower faces of the lock bolt 56, as best seen inFIG. 9. Consequently, when the lock knob 54is rotated in a clockwisedirection, as viewed from the front of the door, to unlatch the door 18,the U-shape actuator 116 will be rotated in a counter-clockwisedirection, as viewed in FIG. 11. This counter-clockwise rotation istransmitted to the pair of dogs 102 by sections of steel cable 120 tomove the upper dog 102 downwardly and the lower dog 102 upwardly,disengaging the dogs 102 from the associated brackets 104. The cables120 extend from the dogs 102 and are attached to the actuator 116 onopposite sides of its axis of rotational movement, as best seen in FIG.11.

In the absence of rotational movement of the actuator 116, the springs108 tend to bias the dogs 102 to the latched or locked positionsillustrated in FIG. 11.

With the arrangement illustrated in FIGS. 9-11, the locker door 18 canbe unlatched, opened, and even slammed without the noise generallyattendant use of a rigid latch bar 60 of the type described in the firstembodiment.

The arrangement and material of the cables 120, and their points ofconnection to the actuator 116 and dogs 102, can be altered to suit theparticular application. For example, there may be instances when it isdesired to release the door 18 by rotation of the actuator 116 in I anopposite direction to that just described.

Referring now to FIGS. 12 and 13, a modified latching and releasingmechanism is illustrated for use with locks which do not include a lockbolt 56 positively movable by a knob 54 upon unlocking of the look. Inthe previously described embodiment of FIG. 4, rotation of the lock knobof the unlocked lock 52 caused the lock bolt 56 to move upwardly,thereby upwardly moving the bracket 58 and latch bar 60 to unlatch thedoor. There are other types of locks on the market which utilize a lockbolt which similarly engages a latch bar to renderthe latch barimmovable when the lock is locked. However, in some of these other typesof locks the lock bolt is not positively movable by rotation of the lockknob when the lock is unlocked. Instead, the lock bolt is simplyrendered movable when the lock is unlocked, and the latch bar must bemoved by a separate mechanism. Normally this is accomplished by a handlemounted to the front of the locker door and coupled to the latch bar.However, in the embodiment of FIGS. 12 and 13 a different kind ofseparate mechanism is employed to move the latch bar when the lock boltis rendered movable upon unlocking of the lock.

More particularly, a lock 52a is employed which is mounted to an insertmember 70 in a manner identical to that described in connection with theembodiment of FIG. 4. The lock bolt 56a of the lock 52a projects throughan aperture of a bracket 58a attached to the latch bar 60. The lock bolt56a is immovable when the 8 I lock 52a is locked, rendering the latchbar 60 immovable and thereby locking the door.

When the lock 52a is unlocked, the lock bolt 56a is enabled to move, asis well known to those skilled in this type of lock art. Instead ofusing a handle (not shown) mounted to the front of the door 18 forlifting the latch bar 60, as is conventional with most school lockerdoor installations, the embodiment of FIGS. 12

and 13 effects upward movement of the latch bar 60 by means of a pullring 122. The ring 122 is normally recessed within the hollow portion ofthe insert member 70 in a position immediately below the inclined topwall or portion 82.

The ring 22 is attached to a short cable 124 which extends through anaperture 126 provided in the upper portion 82. The opposite extremity ofthe cable 124 is I trainedabout a pulley 128 which is rotatably mounted1 by a pulley bracket 130 to the inner face of the upper portion 82. Theinner end of the cable 124 is attached to a laterally and inwardlydirected finger or projection 130 which is integral with the upperextremity of the bracket 58a.

Once the lock 52a is unlocked, releasing the lock bolt 56a for movement,a pulling force upon the pull ring 25 122 raises the bracket 58a andalso the latch bar 60 to which the bracket 58a is attached, therebyunlatching the doorfor opening movement.

This arrangement is particularly advantageous in that it eliminates anyneed for the separate door mounted handle which is conventional in mostprior art school locker installations. This reduces the cost of a lockerinstallation. Also, the recessed location of the pull ring I I 122protects it from being kicked and hammered by. j

vandals.

the present invention is adapted to be used, it will be apparent thatthe invention herein described can be used in conjunction with otherstructures without desired to limit the invention to the exactconstruction of the locker unit as shown and described and, accordingly,all suitable modifications and equivalentsmay be 1 resorted to fallingwithin the scope of the invention as claimed. I

I claim:

1. A locker unit defining an enclosure having a top,

bottom and spaced apart sides and comprising:

a pair of horizontally spaced apart upright side members defining theside edges of a door opening to edge of said door opening, said lowercross mem-.. ber being generally aligned with the bottom of said,

enclosure;

said side members and having a lower edge portion defining the upperedge of said door opening and" an upper edge portion generally alignedwith the top of said enclosure; and

to said cross member thereby to reduce the door While locker units oftypical design and construction I have been illustrated and described asones with which parting from the spirit and scope of the invention.Moreover, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur tothose skilled in the art, it is not dean upper panel extending betweenand attached to a door located in said door opening and hingedto one ofsaid side members, said upper panel being approximately four timesgreater in height relative 9 height relative to the height of saidenclosure whereby the resistance of said door to bending deformation isincreased compared to a door approximately equal to said height of saidenclosure.

2. A locker unit according to claim 1 wherein said upper panel includesventilating openings and said door is absent any ventilating openingswhereby the resistance of said door to bending deformation is increased.

3. A locker unit according to claim 1 wherein said upper panel includesventilating openings and said door is absent any ventilating openings,and wherein said upper panel includes a locker identification plate.

4. A locker unit according to claim 1 wherein said door includes anopening, and said locker unit further includes an insert member having arecessed central portion adapted to mount a lock in recessed relationwith respect to the front surface of said door thereby to shield thelock from kicking whereby the resistance of said door to bendingdeformation is increased.

5. A locker unit according to claim 4 wherein said insert member centralportion includes an upper wall sloped at an angle of not less than 45relative to said front surface of said door thereby to facilitateviewing the lock from above.

6. A locker unit according to claim 4 wherein said insert member centralportion is characterized by a relatively highly light reflective surfacethereby to facilitate illumination of the lock with the available light.

7. A locker unit of predetermined height comprising:

a pair of horizontally spaced apart upright side members defining theside edges of a door opening;

a lower cross member extending between and attached to said side membersand defining the lower edge of said door opening;

an upper panel extending between and attached to said side members andhaving a lower portion defining the upper edge of said door opening;

a door located in said door opening and hinged to one of said sidemembers, said upper panel being approximately four times greater inheight relative 10 to said cross member thereby to reduce the doorheight whereby the resistance of said door to bending deformation isincreased compared to a door approximately equal to said predeterminedheight; a latching mechanism having portions carried by said door and bythe other one of said side members, and latch means operative to movesaid portions into and out of latching engagement to lock and unlocksaid door, respectively; and a lock having an operating knob and a lockbolt coupled to said latch means, said lock bolt being movable uponmovement of said knob to operate said latch means. 8. A locker unitaccording to claim 7 wherein said lock knob includes a reduced diameterannular section located inwardly of the knob outer face whereby saidknob may be used as a handle to open said door upon operation of saidlatch means by said movement of said knob.

9. A locker unit according to claim 7 wherein said latch means comprisesan actuator rotatably mounted to said door, and wherein said latchingmechanism portions comprise a pair of brackets secured to said other oneof said side members; a pair of dogs rotatably mounted to said door formovement between latching positions in engagement with said brackets andunlatching positions out of said engagement; bias means coupled to saiddogs and tending to urge said dogs toward said latching positions; andcable means extending between said actuator and said dogs and operativein response to rotation of said actuator to rotate said dogs against thebias of said means and toward saidunlatching positions to unlock saiddoor.

10. A locker unit according to claim 9 wherein said lock knob includes areduced diameter annular section located inwardly of the knob outer facewhereby said knob may be used as a handle upon unlocking of said

1. A locker unit defining an enclosure having a top, bottom and spacedapart sides and comprising: a pair of horizontally sPaced apart uprightside members defining the side edges of a door opening to saidenclosure, said side edges being generally aligned with the sides ofsaid enclosure; a lower cross member extending between and attached tosaid side members and defining the lower edge of said door opening, saidlower cross member being generally aligned with the bottom of saidenclosure; an upper panel extending between and attached to said sidemembers and having a lower edge portion defining the upper edge of saiddoor opening and an upper edge portion generally aligned with the top ofsaid enclosure; and a door located in said door opening and hinged toone of said side members, said upper panel being approximately fourtimes greater in height relative to said cross member thereby to reducethe door height relative to the height of said enclosure whereby theresistance of said door to bending deformation is increased compared toa door approximately equal to said height of said enclosure.
 2. A lockerunit according to claim 1 wherein said upper panel includes ventilatingopenings and said door is absent any ventilating openings whereby theresistance of said door to bending deformation is increased.
 3. A lockerunit according to claim 1 wherein said upper panel includes ventilatingopenings and said door is absent any ventilating openings, and whereinsaid upper panel includes a locker identification plate.
 4. A lockerunit according to claim 1 wherein said door includes an opening, andsaid locker unit further includes an insert member having a recessedcentral portion adapted to mount a lock in recessed relation withrespect to the front surface of said door thereby to shield the lockfrom kicking whereby the resistance of said door to bending deformationis increased.
 5. A locker unit according to claim 4 wherein said insertmember central portion includes an upper wall sloped at an angle of notless than 45* relative to said front surface of said door thereby tofacilitate viewing the lock from above.
 6. A locker unit according toclaim 4 wherein said insert member central portion is characterized by arelatively highly light reflective surface thereby to facilitateillumination of the lock with the available light.
 7. A locker unit ofpredetermined height comprising: a pair of horizontally spaced apartupright side members defining the side edges of a door opening; a lowercross member extending between and attached to said side members anddefining the lower edge of said door opening; an upper panel extendingbetween and attached to said side members and having a lower portiondefining the upper edge of said door opening; a door located in saiddoor opening and hinged to one of said side members, said upper panelbeing approximately four times greater in height relative to said crossmember thereby to reduce the door height whereby the resistance of saiddoor to bending deformation is increased compared to a doorapproximately equal to said predetermined height; a latching mechanismhaving portions carried by said door and by the other one of said sidemembers, and latch means operative to move said portions into and out oflatching engagement to lock and unlock said door, respectively; and alock having an operating knob and a lock bolt coupled to said latchmeans, said lock bolt being movable upon movement of said knob tooperate said latch means.
 8. A locker unit according to claim 7 whereinsaid lock knob includes a reduced diameter annular section locatedinwardly of the knob outer face whereby said knob may be used as ahandle to open said door upon operation of said latch means by saidmovement of said knob.
 9. A locker unit according to claim 7 whereinsaid latch means comprises an actuator rotatably mounted to said door,and wherein said latching mechanism portions comprise a pair of bracketssecured to said other one of said side members; a pair of dogs rotatablymounted to said dOor for movement between latching positions inengagement with said brackets and unlatching positions out of saidengagement; bias means coupled to said dogs and tending to urge saiddogs toward said latching positions; and cable means extending betweensaid actuator and said dogs and operative in response to rotation ofsaid actuator to rotate said dogs against the bias of said means andtoward said unlatching positions to unlock said door.
 10. A locker unitaccording to claim 9 wherein said lock knob includes a reduced diameterannular section located inwardly of the knob outer face whereby saidknob may be used as a handle upon unlocking of said door.